Crate for stainless steel sheets and the like



Sept. 4, 1956 w. A. YARDLEY CRATE FOR STAINLESS STEEL. SHEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N w W m w f Sept. 4, 1956 w. A. YARDLEY CRATE FOR STAINLESS STEEL SHEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent CRATE FOR "STAINTJESS STEEL SHEETS AND THE LIKE William A. Yardley, .Chicago, lil.

Application August 27, 1954,"Serial No. 452,599

2 Claims. (Cl. 206-60) The; present invention .relates to packaging. sheetmaterial for shipment, and in particular to .a new and improved crate for stainless steel sheets and .other sheet material, the finish of which must be carefully protected against damage.

Stainless steel has a highly polished surface which imparts to'it its luster-and its beauty. Thesurface'finishing operation is very expensive, and consequentlystainless steel-costs several times as much asordinary cold'or hotrrolled-steel sheets which do not have aspecial'finish. Considerable attention has been given to various-packaging arrangements for shipping stainless steel "and vother material having similar finishes, which might be subject to damage, to minimize the loss through *damage .to the material. However, the best of these developments :has provedto be unsatisfactory for severalreasons. .Among these reasons are: the .unnecessar-i-ly'heavy weight of the empty shipping crate, which adds to the shipping .cost; the great amount of time and labor involved in nailing the cover or closure to the box portion of 'thezcrate after it has been loaded with-sheet material; the damage which notlinfrequently occurs when 'the lid-or closure is mailed in place or isremoved'from the crate at'thepoint :of use of the stainless steel; the great amount of time :it takes to pull as many as 48 nailsto remove the cover when the crate is to be unloaded; and the fact that the prior art crate must be loaded to capacity to insure that the sheetswill not shift within the crate, whichshiftingwould likely result in sheet damage.

The shipping 'crate of the :present invention overcomes all of the disadvantages attendant upon :the 'mostsuccessful of theprior art crates.

It is, therefore, a principal object of thepresentainvention to provide a new and improved shippingtcrate :for sheet material, particularly stainless steel and the like, which is light in weight, low in cost, easy to packzand *unpack, flexible inits capacity, and extremely :sturdy in construction.

Another object is to provide a new and Eimproved shipping crate which does not require theuse of .nails, =screws, or the like, to secure "the 'cover flrmly in place for transit.

Another object is to provide a new and improved shipping crate which is flexible in the varying amounts of sheet material which can be packed into it; that-is, it can contain a single sheet-or a .maximum number of sheets with the same size of crate "and with the same packaging security to the single "sheet :or to the man "sheets.

Another object is to provide a new and improved "shipping'crate which incorporates a"-drop cover so -that 'shipping crate made *of a combination of hardwood for strength-characteristics, and soft woo d for lightness.

further-object is to'providea newmnd improved Patented Sept. 4, 1956 ice shipping .crate wherein there is no likelihood that the nails or screws will project into the interior of the crate and, therefore, damage the sheet material packed therein,

.A further .object is to provide a new and improved shipping crate which does not require the use of nails to secure the lid, cover, or closure in place.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved shipping crate, the cover of which may be secured in place quickly and easily and removed in a few seconds.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved shipping crate wherein the sheets are compactedbetween obstruction free, flat surfaces and the side and end rails of the crate are so arranged that a sheet'cannotslip between a rail and the flat surface.

Another object is to provide a new and improved shipping crate which is not damaged during opening and may .be reused.

-Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view, partially broken away, illustrating the-crate as it comes from .the box manufacturer, and before any sheet material has been packed therein;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, similar towFig. 1, showing the same crate loaded with sheet material and the cover, closure or lid secured in position;

Fig. -3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. .2, looking in :the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view, taken :on the same scale as Fig. 3, and along the line -44 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. ,5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a'modified construction of the crate.

.Ihe crate, indicated in its entirety by the reference character 10, comprises a bottom or :box portion '1-2'and a lid, 'cover:0r closure 14, securedtogether by afastening or securing means 16. 'The crate-ispreferably made in ;standard sizes "to accommodate -the standard .s'izes 10f stainless steel sheets which range from the smallsize'of B0" :by96" to the large size of 48""by .Except for the number of braces and stiffening members, the same construction is used for all sizes 'of crates.

'Therbottom .or box portion 'comprises a pair of longitudinally extending side rails 18 interconnccted at their ends by :end rails 20, all of which are made of hard Wood to give 'the crate strength and extreme rigidity. To the underside of the side rails 18 are secured flatter and wider ledge providing members .22, by nails 24 driven into the rails 18 from the bottom. Similar ledge pro- 'viding members 26 are secured to the end rails 20 by nails 28. The ledge providing members 22 and 26 project inwardly of the side and end rails '18 and Ztl and have, respectively, upper ledge surfaces 30 and '32.

As will be'noted from Figs. 1 and 2, the end rails '20 are =fitted between the side rails 18 and the latterare suitablyfastened to the former by nails 34.

The frame forthe box portion 12 is completedby a plurality of cross or transverse members 36, each comprising a spacer bar 38 and a cleat 40. The spacerbar '38 fits between the ledge forming members 22, While the cleats 40 underlie the ledge providing members "22 and their outer ends are flush with the side edges otthe members .22. As will be seenmost clearly from Fig. 4, the :cleat 40 'is fastened to the spacer'3-8 :by nails 42 which'are clinched at 44 at the upper side of the spacer 38. These members are nailed together on a nailing table which has a hard steel surface, and the nails are driven at a slight angle so that the clinching is done automatically during thenailing anditis notnecess-ary a to turn the pieces over to clinch the nails by a separate blow of the hammer.

The transverse members 36 are secured to the side and end rails and the ledge members by double sets of nails 46 and extending, respectively, upwardly and downwardly thcrethrough and tcrminating close to the upper or lower surface of the frame, as the case might be, thus providing an extremely rigid assembly of parts for the frame.

The box portion is completed by nailing a sheet or panel 50 of board to the frame along the ledges 36 and 32 by nails 52 which are driven through the ledge providing members 22 and the cleats 40 and clinched at 54. The nails are driven so as to have their heads countersunk slightly as seen at 56 so that no abrasive part projects into the interior of the crate which could mar the surface of the stainless steel sheets. The sheet 50 is also glued to the surface 30 and 32 by a spot of glue 53 where the nails 52 project therethrough.

The sheet 50 is preferably a thin plywood or similar sheet. A strong, lightweight, laminated panel consisting of a Douglas fir veneer core bonded to tough sheets of heavy paper has been found highly satisfactory and admirably suited to the purposes for which this box is designed. Such panel is marketed by Weyerhauser Industries under the trademark FLY-VENEER. It should be recognized, however, that any comparable sheet may be used.

The lid or closure 14 includes a rectangular frame of longitudinal members 60 interconnected at their ends by transverse end members 62 and by intermediate transverse members 64 which are spaced longitudinally of each other the same distance as are the transverse members 36 of the box portion of the crate. The end members 62 and intermediate strips 64, like the members 36, comprise spacing bars 66 to which are nailed overlying cleats 68 by suitable nails 70 which are clinched at 72. It will be noted that the cleats 63 are longer than the spacing bars 66 and, therefore, overlie the longitudinal members 60, and the cleats 68 are secured by clinched nails to the longitudinal members. This simple structure forms the lid frame. The lid is completed by nailing to the underside thereof a sheet or panel of board 76 similar to the sheet 50 by nails 70 which have their heads recessed and are clinched in exactly the same manner as the nails 52. The sheet 76 is also glued to the cover frame at 86 where the nails 78 are driven through and clinched.

The lid or cover 14 has a width and length just slightly smaller than the spacing between the side rails 18 and the end rails 20 of the box portion 12 so that it will nest within the box portion. The overall height of the lid, that is, its thickness from the underside of the sheet 76 to the top of the cleats 68, is slightly greater than the distance between the upper surface of the sheet 50 and the top edges of the rails 18 and 20. When the crate is filled with sheets S of stainless steel, or the like, interleaved with the usual protecting sheets 82, the lid portion will project upwardly from the upper edges of the rails 18 and 20 by an amount equal to the total thicknesses of the stainless sheets S which are loaded into the crate.

Figs. 3 and 4 clearly show that the sheets S of stainless steel are compacted between the obstruction-free upper surface of sheet 50 and the obstruction-free lower surface of the sheet 76 and that these surfaces lie between the lower and upper edges of the side and end rails 18 and 20. This construction and arrangement makes it impossible for a sheet of stainless steel to slip between a side or end rail and either of the panels 50 or 76.

The means 16 for fastening the lid 14 to the box portion 12 uses no nails but includes encircling straps or bands 84, which are slightly longer than the girth of a package so that their ends overlap at the center of the lid and may be secured together in a well known manner by suitable fastening means 86, commonly called seals, typical examples of which are shown in United Stat Letters Patent Nos. 2,177,536, 2,268,337, and 2,610,374. The encircling straps 84 are fastened around the crate at the cleats 40 and 68 for reasons which will presently be apparent.

When the crate is shipped from the box manufacturers factory, the bands 84 are fastened to the cleats 4t] and 68 by staples 88 so that they encircle the empty crate with no loose ends. It is intended that the staples 88 fastening the bands to the box portion 12 will not be disturbed, but that they temporarily fasten the bands to the lid. The staples 83 may be loosened or pried up from the lid by means of a screw driver to release the bands so that the lid may be removed during loading of the crate. When the crate has been packed, the lid is placed over the sheets 5, the bands are tightened or tensioned by suitable tools well known in the strapping art, and a seal blank 86 positioned around the overlapped ends of the strapping and clinched or deformed by a conventional tool to form the securing joint. These bands 84 tightly encompass the girth of the loaded crate, press the lid 14 uniformly down on top of the stainless steel sheets S, and prevent the sheets from slipping relative to each other within the crate. No nails are used to fasten the lid 14 to the box 13 and the packed sheets are freed from damage during the loading or packing operations. It takes but two or three minutes to place the lid and tighten and seal the bands. At the destination, the user merely cuts the bands loose by a snip or shear and the lid may be folded back or removed. It is very obvious, therefore, that the arrangements for loading and securing the sheets in the crate are simple, take little time, and remove the possibility that the sheets will be damaged.

The loaded crate is compact and sturdy and will stand up under the handling which it must receive in transit from the stetcl finisher to the customer. The transverse cleats support the panels 50 and 76 and no cleat can be broken and the panels are protected against damage.

The cleats 40 are so arranged that the tines of a power lift fork can be entered in the spaces between them if it be desired to handle the crate in this fashion. The cleats also facilitate stacking of one cratc on top of another and space the panels 59 and 76 away from sharply projecting objects which might possibly dent or damage the panels.

It should be noted that one of the features of this invention is the use of clinched nails throughout the construction of the crate except on the end rails. This provides an extremely strong construction and a crate free from sheet damaging projecting nail tips.

The crates may be reused merely by providing new strapping 84 and seal blanks 86 because there is no nail damage to the wood portions or the supporting sheets 50 and 76 of the crate during the loading or the unloading thereof.

A modified form of crate and lid construction is shown in Fig. 5 wherein the same reference characters generally indicate the same or similar parts of the principal form. In the modified form of construction the cleats and spacing bars of the box portion and lid of the crate are combined into a single transverse member. In the box portion 10 transverse member 90 is rabbeted at 92 to fit around the longitudinal ledge providing members 22 of the bottom frame. This type of construction of course removes the necessity of using the nails 42. Similarly, the lid 14 is formed with combined transverse spacing members and cleats 94 rabbeted at 96 to fit over the longitudinal frame members 60. The sheets 50 and 76 are nailed in the box portion and lid 12 and 14, respectively, in the same fashion as described with respect to the principal form of this invention.

While two embodiments of the shipping crate constituting this invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent that numerous modifications and variations thereof may be made without departing from the underlying principles of this invention. It is therefore desired, by the following claims, to include within the scope of the invention all such variations and modifications by Which substantially the results of this invention may be obtained through the use of the same or equivalent means.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A crate for packing and shipping stainless steel sheets and the like, comprising a rectangular box portion including a relatively thin rigid panel forming an obstruction-free flat surface upon which the sheets are placed, a frame underlying, secured to, and supporting said panel and including longitudinal and transverse ledge forming members each having a marginal portion projecting outwardly from under said panel, and longitudinal side and transverse end rails seated upon and upstanding from the projecting portions of said ledge forming members at the marginal edges of said panel to define the space within which the sheets are packed, a closure including a relatively thin rigid panel forming an obstruction-free flat surface of an area not greater than the area bounded by said rails, and a frame supporting said closure panel, said frame and said panel being nested within said box portion rails with the panel overlying and pressed tightly against the sheets packed therein, and tensioned steel bands encircling the box portion and the closure and pressing the latter down into the box portion and on top of the sheets.

2. A crate as set forth in claim 1, wherein said closure panel and frame have a thickness not less than the height of said box portion rails above said box portion panel so that the top of the closure will project out from the box portion even though only a single sheet be packed in the crate thereby enabling the tensioned steel bands to press the closure down into the box portion and on top of the sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,211,700 Heald Jan. 9, 1917 1,773,542 Munroe Aug. 19, 1930 2,294,279 Carnwath Aug. 25, 1942 2,321,187 Di Cicco June 8, 1943 2,661,837 McCracken Dec. 8, .1953 

